Exchange Experience with AIESEC. BE CAREFUL!!!!

It’s my story when I went to Beijing last August (2012). I just moved it from another place to this blog…because I wanna share to wider readers.

This is a story of my second exchange experience with AIESEC with GIP program (two years ago I went to Beijing for a GCDP program, which was a bit messed up too, but this is another story). My EP ID is: EP-In-ID-US-2012-1445 and the TN ID of my program is TN-In-CN-PK-2012-1984 via AIESEC PKU.

This program is an Education Training program where I can teach English in China as an assistant teacher for one semester, started from September 2012. In the TN form, it wasn’t stated that only NATIVE SPEAKERS or WESTERN PEOPLE could apply, so I applied and got accepted by a girl named Gujing in May 2012. The interview process was very quick and I got accepted right away.

Yet several problems happened before and during my stay in China for a short one month. It was an exceptionally bad experience. To make it easier to understand, I will put this story into some parts. I wrote this solely for a ‘warning’ and ‘sharing’ purpose to other future-exchange-participants/people in general so they won’t experience the same awful things like us because of this company and a certain man called Larry (*9 people who were in the same project with me from many different countries). I don’t intend to do a libelous act nor put the blame solely on one party.

INVITATION LETTER+VISA

After I got accepted, I asked for the invitation letter for visa F requirement (visa F for internship) yet AIESEC PKU and the company kept delaying it since May, and in the end, I never had received an invitation letter until I departed to China.

The company said there are problems with the invitation letter and promised they will sort it out after I arrived in China. This is what they stated in the email:

The government has explained to us clearly that your Invitation Letter of F-visa should be ready by middle of the August. The reason is there are a huge number of applicants for arriving in China on August and the procedure has been delayed.

Now we need to discuss the new solution with you. Our suggestion is, you apply a 30-day Tourist Visa and arrive China on August 17th or 18th. We will meet you at Beijing airport. When you are in Beijing, we will apply to change your tourist visa to the 150 F-visa. It will be easier to wait for F-visa invitation letter after your arrival in China.

So I departed with only L visa for 30-days stay. I didn’t give much thought about it because of my excitement of going to this project. I thought I were going to Hongkong to get F visa, but then Larry told me I don’t need to, that I can do it in Beijing. Later he said I can work with L visa since many foreigners in Beijing also did so, I’m a bit uncomfortable hearing this since I know visa policy isn’t something you can play with. He also said he’s capable of extend my L visa for 3-months stay, which later I found out this is impossible because L visa can only be extended TWICE for one month for each extension.

THE PROJECT+SCHOOL

I thought once I arrived in Beijing, I’d get TEFL Training right away and the school for me was already decided. And that I’d teach in Beijing.

But soon after I arrived, Larry said the TEFL Training would be conducted in October after we get ‘enough experience of teaching in Chinese school’. Also, that we all would teach in another city/province, one person for one city. Moreover, I also found out that the company was still looking for a school for us. AIESEC PKU later, after the problem occurred, claimed they didn’t know that EP still didn’t get any school even after we’re matched in the system. But some of AIESEC PKU member said otherwise. Surprising and confusing.

In the end, despite the fact I have 1.5 years teaching experience and TEFL Certificate from local English First, I didn’t get a school because I am not from western countries, because I’m an Asian. The same thing happened to the Holland girl but Cambodian-born. That is very racist, in my opinion. If the school refused me because I had no teaching experience or my TEFL certificate wasn’t enough, I’d find it more acceptable. But Larry and the AIESEC PKU said it’s merely a stereotype and a MARKET DEMAND. Then he offered me a job to work with him in the company. I said I’d think about it, and since I thought I got no other choice, I accepted it at first.

But after almost 3 weeks, nothing was clear about my contract, my job description, and when will I start working in the company. Larry did told me about the working details and visa on Sunday, Sept 02, but still asked me to “Wait. Because office is not ready”. And didn’t mention about working hours though he said I’d receive the same amount of salary as the other interns. Later I found out from my Thai friend (who was also supposed to work with him in the company), that I had to work from 9-6 Monday-Friday, which is twice longer than the working hours stated in EP AN (less than 20 hours a week).

During the three weeks, I ran out money+visa+patience of waiting in uncertainty. The uncertainty and frustration also happened to my other friends, because Larry kept changing their city/school. Everything was so unorganized and no clear details on why the plans was kept changing were shared to us. We only could wait and wait with “I’ll tell you tomorrow” promises. So then I told him (on Friday Sept 7th) I’d leave if there’s nothing clear about my work on Monday Sept 10th. He then started yelling and threatened he’d call the police and made me pay some fine if I dare leaving China and also how much money he spent on me, etc, etc (*while he said himself before this is government project and he got government budget. AND he didn’t pay THAT much either since the hostel was cheap and I paid for my own meals since the beginning even though in my EP AN it was stated that company shall pay for it.). At this point, I lost all my trust and respect for this person.

I contacted AIESEC PKU and AIESEC SURABAYA about this new condition and one girl from AIESEC PKU tried to solve it by talking to Larry. Then he gave me some offer about teaching in an English Institution and that he’d set up an English class so I can teach there. But these are still probabilities and sounds so unconvincing for me. Moreover, he also asked me to write the contract myself…which really doesn’t make any sense for me. He decided I refused the offer when I said I’d think about it and from that day on, he stopped paying me the accommodation. He also said if I leave China, I must pay him all the accommodation cost during my stay, wrote an apology letter stated it was my mistake and not his that I decided to leave, and If I can’t pay, he’d make AIESEC to pay because AIESEC has found him the wrong person for the program, also threatened to call immigration office to stop me from leaving, etc etc.. He also gave the same threat to EPs from Norway.

PROBLEM SOLVING FROM AIESEC

After all the threats I received, I felt so insecure and decided to move hostel (*and because the hostel was too expensive for my wallet) and told my embassy about this problem. The embassy asked me to go home right away and not to accept any more offer from Larry because they find him unreliable.

Yet AIESEC PKU and Surabaya persuaded me to stay while they’re trying to figure out some solutions for me. The solution at first was to accept company’s offer to teach in a kindergarten in ShanXi Province and that I had to spend 2 more weeks in Beijing to prepare. I refused this because of the un-clarity of “preparation weeks” and that I really ran out money to sustain myself in Beijing for 2 more weeks plus a month in ShanXi province before I get my allowance and that I don’t want to accept any more offer from Larry. I refused NOT because I don’t want to work, but I can’t be bothered about more uncertainty and more frustration if I accepted it, I’m totally drained already.

Then they worked out on other solutions on Thursday Sept 13th: PKU will take care of my visa extension, find me a temporary GCDP program, and find me a new TN for GIP. Though PKU still wished I’d take the company offer, in which me and my LC agreed under the condition Larry has to sign an agreement which is stated he won’t threaten me, gave out clear details about the project, etc etc.

To shortened the story, because of some misunderstanding and miscommunication between AIESEC Surabaya and PKU, people from PKU said it’s hard for them to find me another GIP and that Larry refused to sign the agreement based on some legal reasons. Because of that, I finally had to go home, empty handed. Moreover, I got no reason to stay since no GIP for me to do as well.

MY SITUATION

This is my second exchange experience with AIESEC. The first one was messed up because I was told the project was cancelled on my way to China. Because I couldn’t come back, so I still went to China and AIESEC RUC (the LC at that time) promised to find me and my friend another GCDP. They did, and it was sort of making the whole exchange experience better.

This time I went for GIP, giving AIESEC a second chance and wishing they won’t mess up the project again. But then, again, something more terrible happened, because of the unreliable company in the TN that AIESEC raised.

Try to put yourselves in my shoes: coming to China to find a job with money only enough for a month there because I was thinking I’d get allowance at my second month, sacrificing the open recruitment from Foreign Ministry which I’d been waiting for 2 years only to come to China, but in China I got rejected by the school because of a racial reason, then went through almost a whole month of frustration and uncertainty, and also got threatened by Larry. If you were me, how would you feel and react?

The problem with Larry is not only personal problem like what the AIESECers thought. They didn’t seem to understand WHY the uneasy and insecure feeling I had for him led me to decline his offer to teach English (which was a job stated in the EP AN). Picture this: you run a business, wanted to make a deal with another company then found out the company is led by a man like Larry. Even in business matter, company’s credibility and trust we have for business partner are important, too. I saw how he dealt with the other interns, the frustration all of them went through. Even if they got their school at the end, the process was extremely exhausting and frustrating for them, because Larry kept changing their cities, kept changing plans, breaking his promises, not giving clear answer/explanations about many details, etc etc. Moreover, none of us got the 150days-F visa company promised in the beginning. From this experience, I found that working professionally with him or accepting his offer, was not something I wanted to do, aside from his personality.

I’m grateful to the efforts spent by the AIESECers from both LCs especially during my last week in Beijing. I really appreciated that. Really. But it doesn’t change the fact at how disappointed I am and my family and how much I had lost (not only financially, but also time and opportunities) for this pointless-one-month trip. It’s actually mostly Larry’s fault, but it doesn’t mean AIESEC is not part of the blame at all.. Because it was them who provided the TN. It was them who sent me there. And it was them who, indirectly, forced me to go back. This case, my case, is still unsolved until now, for me. Even if AIESEC insisted it is, because AIESEC International said my decision to leave China making me at ‘weak’ position. Frankly, who wouldn’t leave if they were me? Even my friends who were in the same internship also wanted to go home. Some did. Some didn’t but they suffered throughout the internship period. From all these experience I get impression that all AIESEC care of, is their ‘good name’ and ‘good reputation’, not the EP’s well being. Well, I must say, reputation, name, and trust are earned….and they failed, terribly.

I do wish no other interns/EPs encounter the same problem like me and my intern friends. And also, please, for AIESEC, find a reliable company to work with so no other people will waste their money, time, energy to travel overseas only to go back home empty handed. It’s not easy for many people to travel overseas and we do to gain some more experience, more preferable the good ones. Beijing is a memorable and great place for me, but it’s now tainted with bad memories because of this.

Hi Crabbie its jay again lol. Idk why somehow China leave quite an unpleasant experience because the agency or person who brought us here is quite unpleasant lol.
I had quite a bad one when first time arriving in China last September. I come to China to study to get my bachelor degree after graduating from high school so I have an agency helping. But truth is the agency is not really helping and disappointing. I almost got trouble when making residence permit visa because my agency didnt return my original JW202 form and original copy of my health check result (this make me pay more than I should pay) . when I asked them why they didnt return them to me, they blamed Embassy for being careless. so I had them send it within three days via fedex and they make my parents pay half of the fee for that package. even though everything is fine now, but at that time I feel the same as what you feel. Disappointed. and somehow I am stressed & scared because its my first time facing this huge problem without parents aid and I am faraway from them.
So like you said, the agency who brought me had failed… terribly to make me feel comfy here on my first month.
So I hope everyone who will face stuffs like internships or studying abroad will have a pleasant one on their first time.

hopefully yeah..
I think..it’s basically how to deal with chinese mainland ppl..
we can’t deal with them well..so we got bad experiences u__u
i understand ur feeling…dealing with immigration alone is very scary >____< glad you can get out of it safely

Make sure you get the correct visa. Go over every requirement and your work description (and salary). Double check, triple check everything especially related to your visa/temporary residency. Ask for contacts for the President of local aiesec and the head of aiesec higher body…so you can contact them right away. Ask for their office locations,too just to be safe

As an AIESECer, I’m sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience. Unfortunately, because we change leadership every year and are entirely student run, there are instances where youthful folly gets the better of us. I assure you that while your incident is not isolated, it is the minority. Most of the people we send abroad do have a great learning experience and find it a commendable and satisfying endeavour. AIESEC Indonesia, for example, is well known for taking very good care of its foreign EPs. Again, truly sorry that your experience is not what it should be. Thank you for understanding that we are doing our best.

My first exchange experience with AIESEC was also a failure. That first, I understand and they did try to fix it.
The second one, despite trying hard to, I couldn’t really accept “we did try our best”, still can’t until now. It was probably one of the worst experience in my life. Until this second I still feel terribly guilty to my Dad for the money he spent to get me out of that mess (it could’ve have been used to fund my sister’s school…).

AIESEC did apologize. But the impression I got from the ‘apology’ was that they didn’t want me to tarnish their reputation by spreading/telling this story to other exchange participants……not really apologize of what happened to me and my friends during that time. so..idk..

ps: perhaps AIESEC really needs to ask exchange participants of what they REALLY experience tho anonymously (not mention you’re from AIESEC to make sure they can tell you honestly)….cuz I did meet numbers of exchange participants who felt dissatisfied because during AIESEC exchange, they felt like being neglected by AIESEC (a Germany girl told me she encountered problem regarding her visa and AIESEC couldn’t be contacted for help, an Indonesian girl before told me she was supposed to do project in city A but then the project was cancelled suddenly and no replacement, etc) and that their projects didn’t go as planned…

The main problem with Aiesec is that this organisation is lead by students so there is a big lack of professionalism on this organisation. They are often unable to deal correctly problems and that’s frustrating. I just came from a bad expérience in Indonesia because they interfer in a personnal problem that was not there business and never affect my work. In fact I got a conflict with an Indonesian Aiesec member and they decided to protect him because it was a friend of the project organisers. They found how to call some of my relatives without talking to me about it even I was major. I have problems with this kind of solution because they never try to discuss with me and enter in my private life.

Be carefull AIESEC hates negative critics. I know many people like you and me who got bad expériences. We often used to get censorship about that or radical replies with the argue we are not respectfull (very professional- sarcasm).

I could talk to you about my bad experience in Aiesec. I have been in Indonesia for an jnternship but because a personnal conflict with a local Aiesecer my intership ended. The conflict was not the Aiesec organisers business and never affected my work but they decided to interfer on it. In fact the local Aiesecer was a good friend of the project organiser. I have been insulted by this person who not receive consequence even got a promotion as VP. To rules the problem the project organizers who were Aiesecers decided to call my parents even I tried to get a discussion with them witch never happen. I decided to rule the situation by myself and finally succeed but it was too late; they already asked for a breaking realisation. For they clearly entered in private life and just don’t care about my elementary rights as a major adult. My bad experience just revealed to myself the main problems with AIESEC. Managed by students generally unexperienced and not trained as much as it needs, it can have some difficulties to deal correctly problems. It’s often non professional. Some Aiesec comitee evolve also by a kind of friendly network so if you are in good touch with the good people, you can evolve and gain rapidly good position even you not enought competent to occupy position like that. Advice: if you want to have a good international experience and you are as independant as it need avoid Aiesec, find a company or a real prefessionnal placement network managed by people really trained to do that. They are a many in China and for different country area all over the world. You can also write directly write to the company, organisation that could interest you. AIESEC is a student organisation and often there members have other things to do then be occupied by there activities as AIESECERS and it’s understandable. It explain also the lack of quality of there service sometimes. In Indonesia and in Canada, I had no satisfaction with there work many times, but I never complain against that. They are at first students and work in there studies should be there first priority.

Thanks for sharing your experience here! I am an EP who just got matched to a GCDP project in China, hopefully things will turn out well. Anyway I was curious as to which type of Visa did you apply for when you go China for GCDP project? The LC there seems to be confused regarding the visa requirement and fails to give me an answer and I have no choice but to find out on my own. Thanks :)))

Was looking for AIESEC experiences in China and this came up. From the first time I read this, i thought this was so Indonesian. And yet I was right. I’m really looking forward to joining the Youth Ambassador Program and yes, I passed. I haven’t started looking for projects yet, but now I’m kinda afraid.
What visa do I need if I do projects there, not internship things? And they said the project will be for about 6-8 weeks. Heard that visa is only available for 30 days or something. Should we apply for more in Indonesia or we can simply apply to extend in the embassy?
I have no idea about visas since I’ve never gone to countries with one.

F visa… it’ll be valid until 2 months or so… though it’s usually for internship..but I think it’s also applicable for projects/volunteering.

Do not believe them if they say it’s ok to apply for tourist visa (30 days) and you can change visa there… It’ll be complicated to do so in China. Chinese bureaucracy is complicated and most AIESEC members also are not familiar with visa matters……..Do not trust them =p

Hi. It’s me again. LOL
I finally matched with AIESEC ZJU (Zhejiang University) in Hangzhou, Mainland of China. I’ll be leaving on the 3rd of July. For China, I think this LC is quite good. I mean, I’ve heard from my EP manager who happens to be one of the EPs to AIESEC ZJU too last year.
And yes, the invitation letter got here quite in time. Since the AIESEC ZJU promised that the letter would be issued no longer than May 20. And I already got the letter yesterday. So I could work on my visa.

Well, this applies to anyone who is looking for projects. We really have to know all about the LC, the project, and all before you apply for one. Like in AIESEC ZJU, the project was basically there every year, if I’m not wrong. In 2013, it’s named Dare to Dream. This year, it’s Embrace the World. So, yeah. I’m really looking forward to this!

I don’t mean to be harsh but I saw your newest comment and I highly suggest you don’t do the internship. I was doing a GIP in China a few months ago. To make a very long story short it was really terrible, AIESEC was no help and actually wanted me to stay longer at the terrible internship, my company was awful and lied about the job, VISA PROBLEMS F#!@…etc. I have a job here now that I found completely on my own and I sorted out my visa.

As for the Dare to Dream project, it is a waste of time. Embrace the World will be the same thing with maybe a slight modification. I really advise you not to do it. I have done it, another EP here on a GIP did it, a girl from Europe did it, and 2 Indonesian students came to China solely for that. Basically what you will do is stay in a homestay, go to one or some elementary schools for a week or two and tell them about your country and teach them English for free. You should know that if you teach English in China, you will make a minimum of $15 US dollars an hour, thats really the absolute worst payment

The 2 Indonesians were here for 1 month, but the project lasted 1 week. I spoke with both of them privately and they felt it was a waste of time and money. They then had to find a hostel to stay in because they already booked their plane ticket home and were stuck for another 3 weeks. AIESEC basically begged me to let the two of them stay in my one room apartment for 3 weeks so they wouldnt have to pay for a hotel. I would’ve but I already have a friend staying with me. The girl from Europe came to the city in China, and there was no project/internship. She taught English illegally for 150 RMB (~ $23 US dollars) an hour, about 5 hours a week for 2 weeks, then went home. Basically a waste of money.

I’d really advise you not to do it, unless you are doing it ONLY FOR FUN AND HAVE MONEY TO WASTE. I wasted $1500 US dollars in AIESEC fees, plane ticket and visa fees before I figured out all of this stuff and fixed it myself. AIESEC, the local AIESEC chapter and my home chapter, were no help.

Anyway, I understand that there is very little critical reviews of AIESEC internships (none when I googled it 10 months ago) so that’s why I posted this, and to help you not waste your money

Hi have horrible experience with Aiesec too. In my opinion Aisec is a sect! Many people from Aisec are brainwashed. They still owe me big part of my sallary. They blackmailed me and my colleagues during our internship.”If you will not agree with our (bad) conditions, we will cancel you internship and you will not get any dollar and any certificate of you internships.”

Not suprising me at all. Me personnaly, I didn’t beleive my critic would bring me a bunch of problems. I was naive, but because I disagreed strongly with their way to manage the project, they associated me to a rude and mad guy and fired me, calling my parents, wo came to take me directly in Indonesia. No discussion or explanation. In their mind my opposition was not normal. The top happen, when one night I came to one of their party to apologize me. I got insulted and someone try to fight me physically. I just defended myself and the guy who did that never get consequence.

At least they told you what you could loose. They did fuck all of that in Indonesia with me and fired me just like that without follow the exchange policy. My friend also got a bad experience in Ukraine but for I don’t know why she is still involved in that organisation that brought her problems. Me I administrated some Aiesec groups in social networks but I closed all, saying that the organisation was a scam.

AIESEC is a student organisation. Do not beleive you will have THE ABROAD EXPERIENCE. AIESEC just suffer of the main general of other student organisations. Personnaly, my problem is that I had too many expectations and I take very too much seriously my role in AIESEC and became very strict with them, but like all student organisation it the anarchy that takes often the top. If the AIESEC entity leaders of your internship have not good opinions of you, you are done. In Jakarta I had many great friends, but I was in bad term with the wrong people (the AIESEC leader of the local entity). It was not just my critics but our personnality that just don’t fit when I think about my bad experience. It does’nt forgive what they did, but I learn later, that these people have basicly not a good opinion of me. They hated me tendency to tell honnestly the things and when I travelled around in Indonesia with them often I was not comfortable with the activities they organised (I wanted to visit museums, they prefered to shop, by exemple). They liked to do party in night-club, I am a tavern guy who likes to take a beer, sit quietly in quiet bar. It was my boss, but they were different than me and it was not cultural differences, I got friends here, like I stated but me and my boss, it just didn’t work well together and I paid a huge price for that because they were not nice with me.

I’m back and I gladly say I nail the program 🙂 Yes, I got some visa problem, but nothing the school couldn’t solve. They did help me and my friend. We literally spend a day in the visa centre with a teacher and one student. Then the teacher (one with higher rank, I thought) had to come with the school’s document or something for us to be able to submit the application for visa extension.

Hello, guys…I just got selected for a GIP in China, in the field of marketing. Looking at the comments here, I’m now thinking twice about accepting the opportunity… There seems to be a problem with the visa…. Its a 52 weeks internship which would require a Z visa… But unfortunately, I do not have the required work experience to apply for it.Now the company wants me to come over using the Business visa…. Could anybody tell me if its okay ?

Well,I did a check on the company and LC and they are okay… I’m just concerned about the visa problem for now… The company says they will apply for the work visa once I arrive in China….and want me to enter the country on a business visa… Im not sure I can legally work on a business visa and get a salary..

Hi Crabbie,
The school I work for is currently looking into becoming an AIESEC partner, we are a the world’s largest center for children with autism located in Beijing. I read this entry to see if AIESEC met our needs, and found this post really useful–we had plans to meet with a Chinese rep for the organization.
Anyway, if you or any of your friends have degrees in special education, please contact me since we are looking for people to help us. Right now we are looking for (BCBA certified is preferred) special education teachers, we can pay a salary, granted not as high as in first-world countries, but we can work out accommodations, visas, and maybe flights (I’m not the director, but my godmom is). Anyway, contact me if you or anyone you know is interested. But this really is only for special-ed teachers.
We are a non-profit organization and posting onto those job searching things are really expensive. So, just trying to get the word out.
By the way, I taught English in Nanjing, China and I definitely understand the stereotyping.
Sorry our website is all in Chinese

exactly what i thought about aiesec
unorganised and unproffesional
my very 1st impression was when I applied for the exchange program via online and they did not send me the application form until 3 days later although the deadline for the applicant was so close(and although they always online on twitter smh).
then later they give a wrong deadline date and not just once because they did it again later for the interview date-_-
i got accepted even though i was such a wreck during the interview(i was sick)
it seems to me as long as you got the money you got accepted here
well all the things above is just a little problems but i believe the little things that matters
im still looking for a project rn and this post isnt jst make me think twice but also thrice (but ive spend 1.5mio for the mou T_T)

Hi
I had a similar experience in Alexandria, Egypt. Only my Larry was named Aly Bagdady. I was only going there for GCDP, thankfully, but it was still disappointing.

When I arrived they refused to pick me up. Imagine, arriving to a country were you can’t even read the numbers and having a stranger yelling at you through a borrowed cellphone that they wont pick you up. After that, it only got worse. I lived with 19 girls in one apartment with broken beds, 2 bathrooms, no air contidioner, no internet, no where to wash clothes, and cokroaches. Conditions that I had not accepted.

Something similar happened with my “project”, and we (all of the interns) ended up drinking cheap tea and smoking shisha most of the time. It was Ramadan after all, and they had joined the festivites and had forgotten all about us.

I left as after a month and a half, but those who stayed where in for a suprise because they were kicked out of their apartments soon after most of us left.

OMG！
I just joined the GIP thing. I have paid my money(because I was asked to), then the whole crew in my school became very irresponsible, first
I could not apply any thing, the AIESECers totally forgot to verify my account. Then, for some other countries I have to apply from a different link, and require my EP ID (because of the new system they dropped it , I could not find it anywhere, but some application links still require it) so I went to whoever is helping me to ask for it, she started replying my messages very late. she didn’t not have a clue too. Finally I got my ID so I could apply. Afterwards I contacted AIESEC for couple of times, they just started to ignore me completely! Now the website has some bug, it says my professional experience is imcomplete,so I can not apply now! I have applied perfectly before. I updated my profile again and again. Still not working!
This is very frustrating because now I feel like I have been fooled by the school Aiesecers since they have got my money, now they just leave me with a lot of confusion, and nobody is helping me.
My internship hasn’t started yet, I already feel disappointed at the organization.

Well, I am not astonished to read your experience. I am sure it would have been a complete shit… Something similar is happening with my friend. Aiesec do not partner with good brand names. mostly it is the small companies that come forward to accept trainees. Me and my friend got an internship in Turkey, we arrived here and it was out induction day so we were taken to our respective companies. and we were SHOCKED!!!!!

A factory with hardly 2-3 machines, all labourers doing manual work, along with it was a staircase going up.. when we reached up, to my astonishment, It was a factory basically with a temporary office. Ok my company was still ok but my friend;s company :O it was a biggg blunder.
Only 5 workers in the factory, and only 2 employees sitting in the one room and even I was given a desk in that same room. Just one room with the boss and me and the other employee in the same room. ! Plus I DID NOT HAVE A COMPUTER FOR MOST TIME OF MY FIRST MONTH. What could have I done? I kept asking for it and the boss kept saying we will get it we will get it… Strange.

Then due to my health issues and that i took time to settle in a new place, I took leaves. and strangely one day my boss asked me to go back to my country and fired me saying that i am doing nothing for them, I mean!!! is this Professionalism> what kind of companies does AIESEC partner with????
just one month that he came here and got fired without a strong reason????

now what? who will bear the consequences.. till he now could have started a constructive job and not some kiddish internship which provides no learning except international experience. Blah!!
He is still fucked up and trying to request to get a new internship which is extremely difficult as our host aiesec is not accepting their mistake and not providing him a new GIP. this means he has to go back just within 1 month of him arriving here.

What a waste of time!
Its better we stay in our own country, and gain experience. We are still in the midst of this problem. His career is at stake! his time, money, mental status everything is ruined!!!

I would NEVER RECOMMEND AIESEC INTERNSHIPS TO ANYONE AS THERE IS NO LEARNING. EVEN I GO AND JUST SIT TRYING TO LEARN SOMETHING ON MY OWN ITS BEEN ALMOST TWO MONTHS TO ME AND STILL ALL I AM DOING IS COMING EVERY DAY SITTING AT THE PC DO NOTHING AND GO HOME.

THIS AIESEC IS UNPROFESSIONAL, BEING RUN BY KIDS WHO FEEL THEY ARE THE PRIME MINISTER OF SOME COUNTRY WHERE AS THEY ARE NOTHING BUT KIDS RUNNING AN ORGANIZATION WHICH HOLDS MEANINGLESS CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS. NOTHING CONSTRUCTIVE, ALL PARTY AND HAVE FUN.

HARDLY 10% OF AIESECERS GO THEMSELVES ON AN INTERNSHIP.

ALSO NOTE! EVEN IF YOU WANT TO GO PLEASE FIND OUT ABOUT THE COMPANY BEFORE HAND, DO NOT TRUST THEM BLINDLY

“THIS AIESEC IS UNPROFESSIONAL, BEING RUN BY KIDS WHO FEEL THEY ARE THE PRIME MINISTER” Exactly! I wouldn’t write it better. My experience in Albania is very similar to yours in Turkey. And as an icing on the cake me and my colleagues still haven’t received our internship certificates from the company and AISEC Albania is one big ignorance. We lost there 3 months of our lives and a lot of money.
As you said it is really better to stay home than go somewhere with those fraudsters.

Damnnnn mann sooo true
.. You know even my friends’ company isn’t providing him the certificate .they say he coudnt finish his internship. Can u imagine??
Its like adding to someone’s woes! Hell!
I am sure.. Its gonna take more time for you..
Also… Nikol , is this experience of gip counted . does it help in getting you a better job in your country?? M worried that if i spend more time .. Wud it be a waste?? I am planning to cmplete my 6 months atleast.. Bt shud i or shudnt i

Hi,
I’m in the process of going abroad to Guangzhou for a volunteer program. So far, nothing seems shady, other than the fact that I was accepted really quickly. The guy in charge in China is making me an invitation letter for F-visa and he gave me addresses to the conference I have to attend and my homestay address (although they could be fake..). But now, I don’t know if I should continue on or not. Should I give them a chance?

Hi! So did you go to guangzhou in the end? I’m thinking about applying for the volunteer project to there since i know one of the staff in GZ. But reading the review from this post, i feel kinda confused so i want to know more from you if you mind☺

Hello!
I’m currently interested to join GIP. Well, it will be my 2nd times joining AIESEC. The first one was GCDP and it wasn’t really bad. I enjoyed my GCDP that’s why I am now thinking about joining GIP.
My GCDP project was in guangzhou, china (AIESEC SYSU). I was accepted really fast. The team leader was nice and gave a lot of informations I needed. I got my F visa easily. I only paid for transportation when I was there. Accomodation and food got all covered. There were total 9 EPs in the project, but we were seperated into 3 groups, so 3 EPs for each group. And there were many chinese aiesecers accompany us, like 10 people for each group. They all were kind and helpful.

But not for my friend. She got a project in Beijing and sadly right after she arrived there, she was told that the project was cancelled bcs there were only 2 EPs in that project and both from Indonesia. She was promised to get another new project but she was never contacted again after weeks. Fortunately, her homestay family was kind. She (homestay family) gave some works to do like translating or something so, yeah, hoping her coming to China was not a waste. Still a waste, actually. She was told from our local VP that she was not the only one. There are other EPs in other project in beijing also experienced the same. And some EPs still doing their project but there was no chinese AIESECer to help them! They had to teach in rural area, cook by themselves, sleep at school’s classroom. Oh, I actually did the same thing, but there were many Chinese AIESECer who accompany us.
(Wait, why are there so many bad reviews about aiesec in beijing?)

What am I understand is that every LC is different. Maybe our luck also roles in applying a project…
Thank you for posting this post and all comments here.
I will still apply for GIP and hopefully got same luck like i got in GCDP ….

Hi Crabbie.
I am in the same position you were right now. Promises broken, being moved around and the local contracting company is not willing to take any blame. It is basically a hoax if you ask me. Hopefully AIESEC will have my back. I am sorry that your experience surmounted to this, twice, but hopefully you learned a lot during your troubles. It is what makes us grow I guess. Why else take these uncertain challenges:P

Ok, to continue with the topic of AIESEC…I am trying to get an internship in China but everything seems shady….first of all, it looks like companies want cheap labor, they pay 2 to 3 times less than what they should pay for a regular employee and the interns have to work the same hours and everything. Also, the visa is a serious issue…I applied for an internship and the girl asked me if I could get the F/M visa and told me to tell the embassy that this was going to be an unpaid internship and that the company would provide only food and accommodation. The reality was that the company was offering a salary, so she asked me to lie to the embassy. Later I found that you actually need to get the Z visa for a paid internship but companies are reluctant to provide it. Anyways, I received one offer and I am not sure if I should accept it…it’s just that everything gives me a bad feeling…and not to mention that I have to pay money to AIESEC while the basically cannot answer neither of my questions and I have to find out everything myself…all they do is rush me into accepting shady offers.

My advice would be…run away
HAHA.
Seriously, don’t play with visa issue in a country where you don’t even speak the language, particularly China. Too many shady things happen if you get involved with its authority. AIESEC won’t do anything nor take any responsibilities if anything happens to you there.

Hi , I will apply for Volunteer program in Guangzhou for public health , but after reading this I was shocked actually . are these problems all because the program are career and working not volunteering or it may occur in volunteering ?

I went to volunteer one prior to the one I posted here. When my friend and I arrived at the airport, it turned out that the AIESEC member that matched our project quit when she did so. Lord knew why she still could access the system ㅡ.ㅡ No one picked us up at the aiport until my friend who was AIESEC member called another person from their LC who was equally shocked that we were there. The project was also non-existent, obviously. Thankfully, at that time, they managed to find us another place to “work” at…

i found out that global talent is a scam. they told me that if i don’t find a job, i will be refunded. now they told me no, that they never said that. they even said it’s written in my contract, which of course is not real. lucky me i have a lawyer that is free and assured me that i will get my money back, because the contract is BS,and i will sue them. but what happens with those who can’t afford a lawyer. Even their academy now become programs are lame. a couple of trainers are fine, but the rest are horrible. especially the aiesecers. they are boring as hell and they tell nothing in 2h of a so called training. just so they could make a perfect resume. also, my so called ep manager was an idiot. i told him from the beginning where i want to go, and he offered me opportunities in the other side of the world. i’m sorry i found you this late, so i could give them my money and put my friend talk with these scamers.

Currently on an internship with AIESEC in Germany.
My experience:
1. They are unorganized and very unprofessional.
2. Do not have many expectations of them. Be prepared to do things on your own. Internet is your best friend.
3. The leadership changes every, the new kids know nothing.
4. Still Thanks to the team that created this opportunity at a good company and the team that helped me with the visa process. The new kids have no idea about anything.